Sometimes Mark Twain is wrong

Oh this is a pet peeve of mine, people who don’t understand statistics. Statistics is the best tool we have for understanding social sciences like stuff. But the problem is that most people who take up social studies like stuff, take it up because it doesn’t involve taking math courses. Also because social studies like stuff generally involves some kind of politics, and people who are getting paid to do political like stuff are only interested in stuff that proves their point of view.

Political columns used to be a lot more interesting, sometimes they would reveal secret stuff and sometimes they would be contemplative. Anymore they are all like Obama Sucks, Obama Sucks, Obama Sucks; or No he doesn’t, no he doesn’t, no he doesn’t. Whatever kind of evidence they muster to prove their point goes under the phrase, studies show... Generally it’s just that, studies show, sometimes they will be a little more specific, like a 2010 study in Cleveland showed... But even then no details like sample size or what the actual numbers were is forthcoming.

I have written to these guys complaining, but generally to no response. I do understand that it would be boring, but it’s not like their constant repetition of Obama sucks, or No he doesn’t, isn’t boring. But I think it’s more a case of when they hear a study that goes against what they believe they think ah, that’s a bunch of bullshit, and when they come across a study that backs up what they already believe they think it must be accurate.

You know like those studies that show that red meat is bad for you must be bullshit, but those that say a few beers a night keeps away heart attack must surely be correct.

We all hate to disagree with loveable national character Mark Twain but that statement that statistics is another form of lying is bullshit. The thing is that most people don’t understand statistics so they can’t tell a good study from a bad study, so they just label the ones they don’t like as bullshit and the ones that do.

I don’t know exactly where you stand on whether global warming is going on or not. I think you are generally on the side that it is not. Some on the right claim it is just a power grab by, oh probably liberals since they are the source of most all evil in the world, to make draconian demands on business in order to grind them to dust in order to pave the way for socialism. And maybe there are some eco bullies (why is this not a phrase in the lexicon of conservatives like islamofacists, and whatever happened to islamofacists, you never hear that anymore), but that really does not address whether global warming is going on or not.

You know what does? The fact that if you measure the temps all over the earth over the course of a year and average them all you will find that the earth has been getting warmer lately, lately since we have been pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

One could say that maybe it is being caused by something else (which is not likely, but possible), and it will cost a lot of money which will hurt us all to fix(which is true), and we should wait for more evidence (which the deniers will deny, just like they deny the current evidence) before putting some kind of cap on emissions. You can tell I don’t like that argument, but it does have some logic to it, as opposed to denying that global warming is going on and citing as evidence an unnamed article you read in a magazine sometime.

I’m just going to go out on a limb here, without googling it, but I’m going to guess that even if ice is increasing on one side of Antarctica, overall the ice of Antarctica is decreasing.